


When Friendship Factors In

by svana_vrika



Category: Trinity Blood
Genre: Canon Related, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-20
Updated: 2011-03-20
Packaged: 2018-01-05 14:12:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1094865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/svana_vrika/pseuds/svana_vrika
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tres analyzes an error</p>
            </blockquote>





	When Friendship Factors In

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kirathune](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=kirathune).



> Disclaimer: The following is written solely for fun, and no infringement is intended. Trinity Blood and the scenarios and characters involved are the intellectual property of Sunao Yoshida.
> 
> Written from the prompt _Malfunction_ provided through a LiveJournal drabble post. Unbetaed. All mistakes are my own.

_Full system diagnostic scan completed. No malfunctions noted._

Tres blinked as the message flitted through his unique mixture of brain matter and circuitry. He did not comprehend. There _had_ to be some sort of malfunction. There could be no other explanation for his behavior. And the fact that his analytical program had failed to identify a problem merely made him more convinced that there _was_ something wrong. 

“Impossible. Run full system diagnostic scan again.” 

A miniscule flicker in his data stream informed him that the program had restarted, and Tres closed his eyes as it cycled through his various systems. He did not understand it. The order had come from the Duchess of Milan herself. _Should Elise Wasmayer make any attempt to escape, terminate her. The girl is a living weapon and cannot be allowed to remain at large._ Father Nightroad had known that too- and had pulled his weapon and defied him anyway. Tres had compensated, rewriting his program to eliminate the failsafe that prevented him from eliminating one of his allies, but the crusnik had furthered his betrayal by taking the girl and running like a coward, and then short-circuiting him instead of offering an honorable fight. 

When he’d finally managed to reboot, he’d known what he’d had to do: find the hostile elements and eliminate them. Despite the fact that he’d not been operating at full capacity, it hadn’t taken long to locate them. It had simply been a matter of fighting his way through the nest of vampires to his intended targets. And then Nightroad had done something completely illogical. Though the priest had known he was to be eradicated, he had stepped into the battle and had taken the blade meant for him. 

Needless to say, the act hadn’t changed the situation. Tres had still had his orders, and once again, he’d had the opportunity. Nightroad had been _right there_ , and incapacitated. But then the father had made his offer, and despite his unfulfilled objective, Tres had agreed. From a tactical standpoint, it had been the most logical decision; eliminating vampires _was_ what the crusnik was most efficient at, and it would provide him with the chance to apprehend the crux of the problem without any interference from the other. 

He’d located the girl with little difficulty and had removed her from her captors’ clutches. After all, _he_ had been given the order to terminate, and he’d let her escape once. It wouldn’t do to let the enemy do the job for him. Nightroad had joined them shortly afterward, and when the girl had run to him, Tres had once again found his opportunity. Without hesitation, he had pulled his gun. He had removed the safety. He had had them in his sights. An easy elimination of both traitor and threat. But instead-

_Full system diagnostic scan completed. No malfunctions noted._

 

Tres gave a minute shake of his head when the report came back negative once again. Something _was_ wrong, and until he figured it out, there was only one logical course of action for him to take. 

~*~

“You what?” 

Tres held Cardinal Caterina Sforza’s gaze unwaveringly as he repeated himself. “I have disobeyed a direct order, and I told a deliberate fabrication in order to do so,” he stated after imparting the details of his encounter with Father Nightroad and the girl once again. “However, my diagnostic program is unable to locate the source of the malfunction. As such, I am removing myself from your service until I am able to identify and correct the error.”

Caterina stared at him for a moment in silence and then a small smile flitted over her lips. “No,” she said simply with a slight shake of her head. 

Tres blinked, the slightest hint of a furrow briefly creasing his brow. “Lady Caterina, your response is not logical. If I am not functioning at full capacity-“

“Tres Iqus, that is enough.” The Duchess interrupted. “There is nothing wrong with your programming. That you spared Abel and Elise’s lives was not a malfunction. It was a very humane, very _human_ thing to do. And though you do rely on your circuitry and programming to survive, a small part of you _is_ human, after all.” 

“But your orders-“ 

Impatience flitted through Caterina’s eyes as she rose and came around her desk. “Honestly, Father Iqus, do you think you’re the first to disobey? Abel questions and tests me on a near-daily basis, and he still serves me well- for the most part.” A small smirk briefly graced her lips and then she sighed. “If you cannot accept the fact that you’re not the perfect killing doll you were created to be, then consider it this way. You are equipped with several failsafe mechanisms, are you not? Designed not only to protect your allies but yourself?” He nodded, and she smiled again. “Then perhaps your decision was one of self-preservation instead. Elise is a little girl, and Abel a friend. Perhaps your programming realized that to follow my order to the letter would be to risk damaging your human component- a small part of you, yes, but a vital part of your unique constitution nonetheless.” Her smile widened slightly as she watched him attempt to process the suggestion. “Dismissed, Father Iqus,” she said softly after a moment. “And thank you for your exemplary service. I would have been most distressed had your programming _truly_ malfunctioned. After all, Abel is a dear friend of mine, too.”

Tres stood there a second longer and then, after giving the Duchess a respectful bow, he took his leave and made his way back toward his quarters. As he stepped out into the sunlight, someone ran into him on the steps, and he paused, watching the other rub his head gingerly and then offering his hand in assistance. “Father Nightroad, damage report?” 

“Oh, I’m fine, Father Tres. Just fine.” Abel’s voice hitched slightly with the force with which his fellow priest helped him to his feet. “My apologies,” he continued with a slight laugh. “I’m afraid I wasn’t paying attention; I’m rather late for an appointment with Lady Caterina. I only hope she hasn’t lost patience to the point where I’ve missed her.” He laughed sheepishly again.

“Negative. I left her office 3.86 minutes ago. She should still be there.” 

“Oh. Oh, good. Thank you, Tres.” But Abel didn’t move. He simply stood there, lightly worrying his lip as he looked at the other priest. 

“Father Nightroad, do you require assistance?” 

“What? Oh, no.” Abel gave a small smile and shook his head. “Wait!” he called out when Tres nodded and turned to continue on his way. “I suppose I… well, I am rather curious about something.” His smile took on a nervous tone when Tres turned back around. “Yesterday, after the mission… well, after what you’d said earlier, I’d thought…” He paused, looked away for a moment, and then returned his gaze to the other’s, curiosity having settled into the gentle blue. “Why didn’t you fire when you had the chance, Father Tres?” Abel gave another small laugh. “I _was_ rather recalcitrant, and you had your orders, after all.” 

“You had apprehended the target. There was no further risk of escape. As such, there was no need to terminate Elise Wasmayer.” 

“Oh. Oh, I see.” Abel swallowed slightly, that nervous smile returning. “And as for me?” 

“My self-defense mechanisms recognize you as a vital part of my programming, Father Nightroad. To eliminate you would have been to eliminate a part of myself. It would not have been a logical course of action to take.” He was silent for a moment, and then, “It has now been 5.22 minutes since I left the Duchess of Milan. If you still wish to-“ Tres fell silent as Abel’s eyes went wide, and the slightest hint of a curve drew his lips upward for the briefest of moments as the platinum-haired priest took off in a near run. It still didn’t seem logical to him. Then again, little about Abel Nightroad did. But he found himself agreeing with his Lady; it was easier to endure Father Abel’s foibles than to contemplate what the AX- what _he_ \- would be like without him.


End file.
